Washington D.C., August 13, 2009: Immediately after the U.S. Presidential election of 2008, it was quickly apparent through exit polling that Latino, Asian, and African-American voting had expanded dramatically compared to the 2004 election. 

Census Bureau data released late last month confirms the tremendous growth in voting among these groups. Today, the Immigration Policy Center (IPC) releases a fact check, Latino and Asian Clout in the Voting Booth, which shows how much the electoral power of racial and ethnic minorities increased in just four years.  

The report finds:

• The number of Latino voters increased by 28.4% (or 2.2 million) from 7.6 million in 2004 to 9.8 million in 2008.
• The number of Asian voters increased by 21.3% (or 589,000) from 2.8 million in 2004 to 3.4 million in 2008.
• The number of black voters increased by 15.1% (or 2.1 million) from 14 million in 2004 to 16.1 million in 2008.
• In six of the nine states that went from “red” to “blue” in the 2008 election (Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Nevada, New Mexico, and North Carolina), the number of Latino and Asian voters significantly exceeded Barack Obama’s margin of victory over John McCain.

At a time when the United States has elected its first African-American president and appointed its first Latina Supreme Court Justice, this data serves as a demographic wakeup call to politicians. Many future elections throughout the United States will be won and lost based on decisions made by policymakers that impact ethnic and minority communities.
 
 

LATINO AND ASIAN CLOUT IN THE VOTING BOOTH pdf